Date: 2015-08-31
Type of information: Licensing agreement
Compound: drug candidate based on gliadin
Company: Diamyd Medical (Sweden) Professor Karsten Buschard (Denmark)
Therapeutic area: Autoimmune diseases – Inflammatory diseases - Immunological diseases
Type agreement: licensing
Action mechanism:
Disease: type 1 diabetes, gluten intolerance (celiac disease) and other inflammatory diseases
Details: * On August 31, 2015, Diamyd Medical announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement for using the gluten protein gliadin for the treatment and prevention of type 1 diabetes. Diamyd Medical aims at evaluating combination regimens of gliadin with compounds and antigens, such as for example GABA and GAD, for shutting off the inflammatory component in type 1 diabetes, gluten intolerance and other inflammatory diseases, for which preliminary patent applications have been filed. The world market for a successful new drug for treatment and prevention of autoimmune diabetes and gluten intolerance (celiac disease) is considered to be several billion US dollars. The new exclusive license covers a drug candidate based on the environmental antigen gliadin that has been shown to play a role in the onset of type 1 diabetes in animal models. By developing tolerance towards gliadin, the insulin producing beta cell’s functionality and survival rate may be improved. Pre-clinical proof of concept (Funda, PLOS ONE 2014, Prevention and Early Cure of Type 1 Diabetes by Intranasal Administration of Gliadin in NOD Mice) for the drug candidate has been obtained where nasal administration of gliadin significantly reduced incidence of the disease and delayed onset. The license deal was made directly between Diamyd Medical and the inventors. Economic terms are mainly based on royalties and not expected to significantly affect the Company’s financial position. Diamyd Medical has filed its own preliminary patent applications seeking to protect methods and formulations for using gliadin in combination with other compounds for treatment and prevention of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders beyond diabetes. The onset of type 1 diabetes is, in addition to autoimmune attack, often considered to be in association with an inflammation in the pancreas. The exact cause of the inflammation is currently unknown, but environmental factors are assumed to be involved.
“This represents the first successful use of this type of an exogenous environmental antigen in type 1 diabetes disease treatment and prevention,” says Professor Karsten Buschard, MD, Charlottenlund, Denmark, one of the inventors of the licensed technology. “Gluten free diet is another approach being investigated for preventing type 1 diabetes, but it may not be adequate for treatment of disease once presented. Gluten free diet is also very cumbersome to adhere to. Inducing tolerance to the antigen may be a better way forward.”
Financial terms: The license deal was made directly between Diamyd Medical and the inventors. Economic terms are mainly based on royalties and not expected to significantly affect the Company’s financial position.
Latest news:
